·
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1477)
· sold by a soldier to a Swiss government official
· sold to Jacob Fugger
· passed to Emperor Maximilian II
· passed to Henry VIII of England
· passed to Mary I of England
· given to her husband, King Philip of Spain
· finally restored to a descendant of the original
owner

Cleopatra
Pearls

·
two pearls used as earrings

· Cleopatra swallowed one, as told by Pliny
· after her death, the other was cut in two and used
to adorn the Venus statue in the Pantheon of Rome

Gogibus
Pearl

West
Indies

·
504 grains
· pear-shaped

·
brought to Europe by François Gogibus, 1620
· he sold it to Philip IV of Spain
· Princess Yousoupoff

Great
Southern Cross

1886,
Australia

·
nine large, united pearls forming a cross

·
Vatican

Hope
Pearl

·
1800 grains
· irregular pear-shaped
· baroque
· white-green colour

·
London banker Henry Philip Hope
· sold by Christie's, 1886
· owned by Messrs. Garrard & Company of London

La
Huerfana
(aka 'La Sola')

1515,
Tararequi, Panama Gulf

·
124 grains
· pear-shaped

·
acquired from Tararequi indians
· sold by Gaspar de Morales to a merchant
· sold it to Pedrarias de Avila
· passed eventually to Emperor Charles V

La Pellegrina*

India

·
111.5 grains
· rounded
· silvery colour

·
taken to Moscow by the Zozima brothers (18th century) who
had purchased it from an English admiral that had returned
from India
· in the possession of the Princess Youssoupoff

La
Peregrina
(aka 'Philip II Pearl')

1560?,
Panama? or 1574? Venezuela?

·
134 grains
· pear-shaped

·
found by a slave in Panama or found in the Venezuelan fisheries
· presented to Philip II of Spain, 1560
· purchased by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor,
1969

La
Régente

·
337 grains

·
mounted into the tiara of the French Empress Marie Louise,
1811
· mounted into a brooch by Napoleon, 1853
· purchased by the Princess Yousoupoff, 1887